There's nothing you can really do about the dead spot - it's a common characteristic of the Fender style necks. Though some don't have it, a lot do.

Your other problems should be solved with a true setup including but not limited to a trussrod adjustment, fret leveling, nut examination, and saddle adjustment. Just raising the saddles is not the way to go about getting things worked out. Since you are a vet around here, all of the info you need for doing this yourself is available with a search. To get you started on understanding this procedure, here's a link that gives a good explanation of what's involved: